The morgue
As a pathologist working for the Coroner's Office, Natalie Lambert has an office in the Coroners Building, usually referred to as the morgue. Although the exterior scenes were filmed on location at the actual Coroners Building in Toronto, a set was built for the interior scenes. At first, this consisted only of Natalie's office; but, before the end of Season One, this had been extended to include a short stretch of corridor outside the doors into the room, and a walk-in refrigerated room where corpses could be kept. Additional corridors were built in Season Two; and some scenes in Season Three suggest that these may later have been further extended (or else new angles were being used). Because of the way it is filmed, one gets the impression that the main part of this set, Natalie's office itself, is a fair size. Actually, it was quite a small set, though a full four-sided one. All four sides could be broken away, though, allowing the room to be filmed from "behind" the walls. As well, the lenses used on the camera were often chosen to expand the depth of view, so that the room would look larger. Natalie's office The morgue is an all-purpose room tiled in turquoise. It combines the functions of laboratory, office, and autopsy room, as well as having a walk-in freezer where bodies are stored. In the first season of Forever Knight, there was no hallway built outside the main door into Natalie's office. In the second season, however, the set was extended to include a portion of the hall outside. The main entrance is in one corner of the room, diagonally opposite Natalie's desk. Beside it is a lab bench that runs almost to the corner of the room, with a stool for Natalie to sit on. Above is a shelf with jars and bottles of chemicals. Fitted under the shelf is fluorescent lighting so that Natalie can see clearly as she works. Various equipment has been used here, including a microscope and centrifuge. The side wall is largely used for hanging things: posters of human anatomy, a blackboard, and a lighted X-ray panel. It runs down to an office area at the far end of the room. When Natalie is working there, Nick tends to stands in front so he has room to pace a bit as he talks to her. Desk area Natalie's desk has been set with one end against the wall, so that it juts out partway across into the room, cutting off an office corner. If Natalie is at her desk, therefore, she has to get up and come round it into the middle of the room in order to circle round back to the lighted panel and view an X-ray. On the wall beside her desk, Natalie has put a pair of notice boards, on which there are always pinned up messages. There is also a calendar; and the date on this varies from episode to episode as the pages are changed. The desk itself contains the usual paraphernalia, including an in/outbox, telephone, and desk lamp. Behind the desk, running along the rear wall, are a pair of filing cabinets. Various things are on top; but the most clearly seen is a coffee-maker, though Natalie is never seen with it in use. Next to the filing cabinets is a computer desk, with a PC and a printer. Natalie usually uses it facing the wall; but Grace tends to turn it around so that it faces out into the room. An anatomy print has been stuck to the wall above the computer screen, perhaps to give Natalie something to look at as an alternative to a screen saver. Rear Wall Next to the computer table, in the middle of the rear wall of the room, there is a heavy metal door leading into the walk-in freezer. Beyond this, there is a metal refrigerator. Although we rarely actually see Natalie use it, a sign inside the door indicates that it is designated to be employed for the storage of blood and tissue samples. There is space on either side of this refrigerator; and Natalie has put various things there in different episodes. At one time, a coat rack stood to the left of the refrigerator; at other times, she has put the skeleton there. Sometimes a hazardous waste disposal bin has been set in this area, on one side or the other. A functional-looking clock is located high on the wall to the right of the steel door, just to the left of the refrigerator. Corridor Side Wall Turning the corner, you come back to the other side wall. Running up from the end corner, there is a second, much longer steel cabinet with several doors. This is another refrigerator. Beyond the long fridge, there is a side door to a corridor. This must lead to the front door of the Coroner's Building, since Nick runs this way in The Fix to go out of the building in daylight to test the effectiveness of the lidovuterine Natalie had injected. In the corridor outside the door, there is a seat up against the wall: here, in Jane Doe, Natalie talks to Tracy as she recovers from the ordeal of helping to autopsy a weeks-old corpse. Autopsy Table But there is, of course, one more major feature of the room - a large free-standing metal autopsy table in the centre. Above the table is a hanging scale, on which Natalie can weigh things, such as organs removed during an autopsy. There is also an adjustable lamp. Not only Natalie but also the detectives all have become so blasé about the true function of the autopsy table that they use it to lean on, sit on, or put things on - things other than the corpses that it is designed for, that is. As various angles show, the autopsy table runs parallel to the side wall, approximately from the blackboard to the end of the desk. Beside the autopsy table there is a table for instruments; but this is on wheels, so it can be moved if necessary. This is so that Natalie can stand on whichever side of the autopsy table gives the best possible access to the part of the body on which she is working. When she is not examining a corpse, she pushes the little trolley over to the wall by the side door, to keep it out of the way. Above the table is a hanging scale, on which Natalie can weigh things, such as organs removed during an autopsy. There is also an adjustable lamp, so she can get strong illumination when she needs it - during the close external examination of a body, as well as when she removes sections of the organs for further analysis. Natalie's desk is only steps away from the autopsy table. But, even though this is a small room, there is sufficient space in the centre to have a group discussion in the area between Natalie's desk and either the autopsy table or the lab bench. Although the ceiling was not visible in most angles that were filmed, it was white, with long strips of fluorescent lighting. Cold Storage Room There is a second room in the morgue set, reached through the large steel door in the far wall, near Natalie's desk. This is a cold storage room for corpses, which are kept toe-tagged in body bags, each on a gurney. The room is pretty featureless; with plain panelled walls. There is a light switch; but a yellow emergency light is permanently on over the door. If you are inside, and turn and back, you have a good view into Natalie's office itself. Corridors In the first season of Forever Knight, there was no hallway built outside the main door into Natalie's office. In the second season, however, the set was extended to include a portion of the hall outside. It is painted in an orangy salmon shade, with small eye-level labels indicating what the rooms are for, and a band of wood trim lower down. Only a small part of the hall was seen, basically just through Natalie's open door. There were three episodes in which we saw more of the hallways, Undue Process, The Human Factor, and Last Knight. In the former, we see a stretch of grey-painted hallway, whose walls are unadorned by the wood strips that characterize the familiar salmon-orange hall outside Natalie's office. On one side of the hall is an exit - though the scene makes it clear that this is not the one that Natalie uses when she comes in. Where it goes, therefore, is unknown. On the other side of the hall, just before it turns to the left, there is a door going into a laboratory. And a little further down from the end of the hall is another door, through which Natalie goes on her way office; to her office. Just by this door is a time-check point for the security guard on night patrol. His route takes him out of the end laboratory, down to check in, and then across the hall and out the exit. Presumably at some point his route takes him by Natalie's office, though, for there is a later scene in which he catches her there when she is supposed to be off duty. In The Human Factor, Natalie and Tracy talk while walking through hallways in yet another part of the building. They pass through a section of white-painted block construction, pass through double swing doors, and come out into the familiar salmon-orange hallways that we are accustomed to see near Natalie's office. Exterior * Coroners Building Morgue